


A Very Sequins and Feathers Christmas

by Rioghna



Series: Sequins and Feathers [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Romance, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-30
Updated: 2015-12-31
Packaged: 2018-05-10 08:29:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5578525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rioghna/pseuds/Rioghna
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Their first Christmas together, and Belle is on her way to Maine to spend it with her father, while Gold is in London on business.  How will they cope with the separation?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A trip to Maine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BardicRaven](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BardicRaven/gifts).



 

 

A Very Sequins and Feathers Christmas

Belle French found herself an empty seat on the train, stowed her bag in the rack before settling back to watch. They emerged from the tunnels and she watched New York City recede with just a bit of melancholy. Usually, she looked forward to this, her yearly trip home to Storybrooke, Maine for the holidays, and on the one hand she really was. She wanted to see her father, visit, with a few old friends and generally relax or that's what she kept telling herself.

Of course all that was before she had met Robert. The two of them had been dating for only three months, but the idea of being away from him for almost a week seemed forever. It was compounded by the fact that she'd been busy with finishing the semester, and then he had to go out of the country on business, so they hadn't gotten a proper goodbye. It was silly, it had only been two days, but already she missed him.

Oh, she could have stayed. Emma and Bae had made it abundantly clear that she was welcome, but it seemed a bit soon to do the holidays together, despite the fact that she had spent time with them fairly regularly, and with their son, Henry. Besides, Belle really wanted to see her father, and at some point she was going to have to tell him all about Robert. That made her nervous. She wasn't sure how her father was going to take the fact that she was dating a man almost twenty years her senior, a man who had been married before and had a grown son and grandson. That he was also one of the richest men in New York wasn't going to make it any easier. Not that she thought her father would care much about that, but still, she was having enough trouble dealing with that herself.

Speaking of the devil, her phone began to ring, and his face appeared on the screen, a picture she had taken when they had been away at his 'cabin' upstate the last time.

"Hey," she said, answering it.

"Hey. I will assume you made your train and are on your way to the wilds of Maine?" Robert asked, his soft voice curling around her the way it always did, making her feel loved in a way no one had before.

"I am. I miss you," Belle whispered.

"And I you. I'll be back in New York tomorrow." Belle thought he sounded tired. "And you are back the twenty seventh. So tell me, what will it be for New Years? We've an invite to a party out at Midas' place on the Island, or perhaps reservations at the Top of the Rock? Or..."

"Or?" she asked, hoping he was going where she thought he was.

"Or I could pick you up from the station and we could spend the last few days of the old year and the first of the New upstate?"

"I'll tell David he needs to water the plants for a few days more," she said immediately.

"Good. I thought we..." he paused and she heard indistinct voices. "I'm afraid my meeting is about to start. Call me when you get in?"

"It will be very late," she reminded him.

"I don't care, I want to know you've got there safely."

"All right, just for a moment. I love you," she whispered into the phone. It had taken them a little while to say it, but now, she didn't want to stop. Besides, she knew how much it meant for him to hear it. The few things she knew about his ex made her wish she could give the woman a piece of her mind.

"And I you," he replied, indicating that he wasn't alone. They rang off and Belle curled up in her seat, and pulled out a book. At least she could catch up on her reading.

Robert Gold turned his attention to the men before him. "Gentlemen, let's get on with this," he said at his most intimidating. In general he enjoyed the game, but at the moment, all he wanted was to finish up and get back home. If he'd not owed Kenneth Irons, he'd not have involved himself in this, but well, that was neither here nor there. Across the table, the three men representing the other party in this deal were trying not to look as if they knew they were at a disadvantage.

 

Belle finished her book as they changed lines and pulled out her knitting and an audiobook instead. Dusk was falling outside the train, which was now speeding through Massachusetts, at least she thought that was where she was. She dug in her bag and pulled out the luncheon cooler she had packed before she left. There was a thermos of warm tea, and she poured a cup. It would be fun, she told herself. Storybrooke really was the perfect Christmas card town and she looked forward to showing it to Robert one day, just not yet. Her father had told her that there had been snow, and she was certain that the lights would all be out. It was only her second trip home this year, the other one had been over the summer and very short since she had to get back to work, and this year she would be doing her in service, which, with luck, would lead to a permanent job, so she probably wasn't going to get home much.

They didn't really have a Thanksgiving tradition, not coming from one, so she usually spent that very American holiday with Ruby and her Grandmother, had since College. It had been a little bit awkward this year. She and Robert had a bit of an argument ('First argument, it was bound to happen sooner or later,' Ruby had reminded her on Thanksgiving as they had settled in to watch the parade on the tele) having to do with her ex boyfriend the day before. He'd apologized though and they had gotten past it, but it just seemed too close. Belle couldn't help wondering what the next year would bring. But she knew there were going to be changes.

Still, Belle missed her father. She missed their talks and his ridiculous attempts to cook for her. He didn't get down to the city to visit her though. It was a long drive, and he hated taking the train. Besides, her apartment was awfully small for guests, and, until several months ago she would not have been comfortable having him over. That was before the new management company had taken over and turned the place around. Now, the whole place was getting redone. It had been a bit of a pain, but considering that the heat worked all the time now, the hot water was never off, and the laundry room actually had two working washers and dryers, the new super could do just about anything he wanted and she would probably be fine with it. It also meant no funny smells, or strange people, the security door worked, and when she had left, Mr. Clark had informed her that they were either overhauling or possibly replacing the intercom system while she was gone. He'd need permission to go into her apartment, depending on how far and how fast the work progressed. "Hard to get work done over the holidays, but one of my cousins is going to check it out and see if it was worth fixing," he'd told her. One thing Belle had noticed, Tom Clark seemed to have a brother, cousin, uncle or nephew in just about every type of building trade there was. So far, she had met a brother who worked on appliances, another who was some kind of freelance building inspector, and a cousin who was a locksmith (that one when a former tenant had tried to break in by forcing the security door). Now, Belle had no qualms about having her father visit, but there was still the issue of the small apartment and the long trip.

Rather than dwell, Belle turned on her headphones and set to work finishing Robert's scarf, a Jared Flood design which she hoped to have done before she got back to the city. She managed to knit her way through several chapters of Harry Potter and keep her thoughts off of Robert all the way to the train change in Boston. One more leg, and she was home, or close. Her father would pick her up in Portland and then drive them home. _It would be fun_ , she told herself determinedly.

When the train pulled in to Portland (only thirty minutes late), she grabbed her bags and hurried off. It had gotten colder, and she added her own scarf and tightened her coat. After a quick stop in the restroom, she called Robert (and woke him up, it was three in the morning in London) to let him know she had gotten in. He murmured a sleepy 'I love you,' as she rang off and hurried out to find her father waiting for you.

"Good trip, my girl?" he asked as she gave him a big hug.

"The same as always, I suppose," she told him, returning it.

"Well, we will be home soon, love. Hop into the truck."


	2. Happy Christmas

 

Belle woke a bit disoriented, to the smell of frying bacon and what she absolutely knew would be her father's slightly burnt pancakes. Last night, after he had picked her up at the station, they had driven back to Storybrooke singing along (badly) to Christmas carols on the radio. Then he had driven through the old section of town, looking at the painted ladies, all decorated for Christmas, all tasteful fairy lights and greenery, and not a blow up Santa in sight. Belle knew Robert would have loved it, and she vowed to bring him up to see it someday, after she had gotten around to telling her father about him. Storybrooke liked to enhance its Victorian image over the holidays. He'd caught her up on the doings of those she knew in town, which was just about everyone, and then they had returned home for a last cuppa before she crawled into her old bed and fell asleep.

"Belle, love, breakfast," her father called. He'd always been a bit of a morning person. She rolled over, found a pair of slippers that were probably still there from her last visit, and her robe on the back of the door before going out. "There's my girl," her father called heartily. "Are you ready for the best pancakes in Storybrooke?"

"Oh, we're going to the diner then?" she asked with a smile.

"None of your cheek, girl," he said, trying to look stern. "Or it'll be nothing but gruel for you."

"Gruel, really dad? Mother Blue gotten you talked into a part in the Christmas pageant?" Mother Blue was actually the Mother Superior of the biggest (and probably only) convent in that part of the state. She was nice enough, and as Storybrooke was too small for both a Catholic and a public school, she taught Catholic religion classes after school to those interested. Belle's mother had been Catholic, so she'd attended for a few years. The nun had, in her younger days, she had told them, loved her studies, and when she had chosen her name, had failed to take into account the fact that none of the children she taught, and few of the adults could pronounce the early Christian Saint. After attempts that had ranged from painful to hilarious, she'd given up. As her order's habits were blue, Sister Blue she had become, now Mother Blue. As a child, the nuns had fascinated Belle, convincesd as she'd been that they were secretly fairies in disguise, and she'd spent a great deal of time trying to catch them doing magic. Her father had been a bit frightened, thinking she was going to run off and take Orders.

"Well, actually, I am, yeah. Playing Father Christmas this year."

"What, the judge retired?" she asked, startled. Judge Olaf had been playing Santa since they had first moved to town.

"Worse. He had a heart attack. Doc and his wife between them got him on a get fit scheme. He won't fit the suit any more and I'm the only man in town that is old, tall, and broad enough to fit the costume. Honestly, it was getting a bit snug on him. I'll need a couple of pillows, but it works. Best stay out of her way though, love. She asked when you were coming in. I think she's short a caroler."

"No worries, I'd be too short for the costume."

"Don't count on it," he told her. "It's Tina whose out. You know she and Jack are pregnant? Well, it's twins, and she's only a month or so out. She's as big out front as she is tall. Plus Doc's got her on bed rest."

"I'll avoid Blue, but I should go see Tina," Belle promised.

Tina, nicknamed Tiny Tina or Thumbatina, when they were at school, was the only girl that had been shorter than Belle. She had also left Storybrooke for school, returning to teach in the elementary school. "It's the only place where the students aren't bigger than I am," she'd joked.

"Well, I'm going to open the shop. You rest, and join me for lunch at the diner, all right?" her father said, giving her a peck on the forehead.

She'd agreed and then sent him off, saying she would clean the kitchen. It was odd, being alone in the house. She took her phone off the charger. Robert had texted her, something he wasn't really keen on, but he was learning, since she needed her ringer off at work. _'I'm on the plane heading home. Didn't want to wake you. I love you, R.'_ She smiled and made a note to call him later when he'd had a chance to settled in, before she turned to her chores.

 

Three days in Storybrooke, and Belle hated to admit it, but she didn't know what to do with herself. The problem was twofold. First, she was still at that awkward place. New York was where she lived. Her apartment was her home, decorated by her. Her room in Storybrooke was exactly that, a room, full of leftovers from her child and teenage years, things she didn't need, wouldn't fit, or that were important enough for her not to want to get rid of that she left behind as a kind of anchor to prove to herself that she still had a place in Storybrooke. But the truth was, she didn't. Her few good friends, apart from Tina, were elsewhere. The second part was much more straight forward. She wasn't used to having free time. At home, if she wasn't working or attending classes, she had homework, dance practice, costumes to work on, or shopping with Ruby and Abbie, or spending time with Robert. The last one of course was the biggest one.

Instead of dwelling, Belle decided it was time to do something. She went and found a couple of boxes, and some bin liners, and started with her closet. By the time her father arrived home, there were several bags in the hall, and a couple of neatly labeled cartons.

  
"That time is it?" Moe asked from the door.

"Oh, Dad, I didn't realise you were home. I just thought it was time for a bit of..."

"Belle, my girl, you think I don't know what time it is? Remember, as hard as it is to believe, I was your age once?  Time to move on and start your own life. I understand. Been waiting for it. I wasn't going to push you. Just tell me, is this you, or does it have anything to do with that new bloke of yours?"

"Oh Dad, what makes you..."

He gave her a looks, that one that clearly said he wasn't buying it. "What is it, Belle? What is it you think I'm not going to like about him? It is a him, right?" he asked carefully.

Belle laughed. "Yes, Daddy, he's...well, he's a him. His name is Robert."

"Well then, why don't you come into the kitchen. You make us a cuppa and I'll order pizza from Tony's and you can tell me all about him."

"I..." she started.

"I promise, Belle, I'll try not to pass judgement. Can't guarantee, but I'll try."

 

So it was that over tea and the best (and only) pizza in Storybrooke, Belle told him about how they had met, about how he'd rescued her from a drunk, and went from there. Moe listened and nodded, asked a few questions, but seemed to be handling it well enough. "Well, you've told me what I'm going to like about him," he said carefully, eyeing the last piece of pizza. "What is it you think I'm _not_ going to like?"

Belle thought for a moment about how to express it. There was no way around telling him, not really. She loved her Dad, and they had been all they had since Mum died. "He's...older than me," she told him. "I met him because he's a business associate of Abbie's father."

"Okay, so a good bit older. He's not married is he?"

"No! He was..."

"You're sure..." he asked carefully. There were too many men who had told that lie.

"No. He was, but he's been divorced for years and years. Also, she's dead. And that's not just something he told me. Abbie's known them forever, she went to school with his son and..."

"Well," her father said, after being quiet for a long while. "At least you won't have to worry about his ex. I can't say I'm completely comfortable, but I see he makes you happy, so, I'm willing to reserve judgement. Your mum was younger than I, almost fifteen years, seems to run in the family. But tell me, how has his son taken it, have you met him?"

"Oh Bae is wonderful," she told him. "He and his wife have been nothing but supportive, and you'll love Henry..."

"He's got a grandson? Just how old..."

"Robert's younger than you are, Dad. He just..."

"Start young in that family?" he suggested.

"Well, Henry's four, Dad. Bae and I are pretty close in age. I know that he and Emma got pregnant in college, and I think that it's the same for Robert, he made a comment on it once, but he doesn't like talking about his ex." She left it at that. She had no intention of explaining the things that she had figured out for herself, about what a positive nightmare his ex had been.

"If his son is okay with this..." her father said. "But I will want to meet him, you know that?"

"I do, I just...we've been together three months and I thought I ought to tell you about him first. Plus, I just didn't think it was time...Emma and Bae invited me to join them for Christmas, but I needed to see you, and to tell you...I guess I just..." Her phone started to ring.

"I take it that's him. Well, go answer it. I'll clean up. Go on," Moe waved her away. _Oh, Colette, I wish you were here_ , he thought. _What would you say? I know, I know.  Be patient, wait and see. I'll try, love, I really will_.

 

 

It was good to tell her father about Robert. They hadn't met yet, but at least he'd promised to give him the benefit of the doubt. Still, it didn't stop the random questions. 'Where is he from?' 'What does he do?' and of course, on finding out that he was a Scot, 'what's his football club?' The last causing her to issue a warning that she'd have no insulting of his taste in clubs when they met. "Save it until you've at least had a chance to talk," she told him in frustration.

Meanwhile, the preparations for the holidays continued. Belle purchased the food to cook a proper Christmas dinner, her father tried on his costume for Father Christmas, and of course, Robert called. "I wish you were here," she said.

"Say the word, and I will be there," he told her.

"I can't do that to Henry, not to mention Bae and Emma," Belle told him. "But it doesn't stop me from missing you."

 

Christmas morning dawned bright and clear, and with a fresh coat of snow, Storybrooke was a picture postcard. As soon as they finished with their presents, Belle left her father to football highlights since they were on Holiday break and she retreated to the kitchen. She'd just put the small goose in the oven when there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it," her father called.

Belle continued what she was doing, only turning around when she heard a familiar and completely unexpected step-tap enter the kitchen. "Robert?" she called, startled. "What are you...."

"Your father called and invited me," he said. Moe French was standing over his shoulder, watching the two of them.

"Call it a slightly late Christmas present.  I borrowed your phone, love. I'll be in the living room. You can join me for the football highlights when you've said your hellos.  She hates anyone underfoot while she cooks." He looked at the man appraisingly. "If you make my daughter happy, I'll disregard your regrettable taste in clubs," Moe said gruffly. Then he turned and left.

Belle flew into Roberts arms. "I...how....I..." He kissed her, silencing for a moment all the questions.

"I was quite surprised as well, but he said it would make you happy, and well, we both want you happy."

"But what about Bae and..."

"Well, we did Christmas last night. They send their love, by the way. It's going to be fine, Belle. Happy Christmas."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I've really been in a fluffy mood, and I'm gathering from the comments, that it has been a bit rough for all of us. I figured that taking away their past would make them much less inclined to hate each other, and adding the curse making Moe somewhat stupid apparently, would change things up some. Hope you enjoy. Please read, review, and all that sort of thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so first, thank you for reading this. It's just a bit of fluff, probably two posts (I actually planned to finish it today, but well...I went to see Star Wars). Please enjoy. Prompted by my sister, BardicRaven, who wanted a little Sequins and Feathers fluff.
> 
> Oh, the scarf that Belle is knitting is Jared Flood's Pavement Pattern. I will try to put a picture up later.


End file.
